Serum brain-derived neurotrophic factor level in elderly women depression: a community-based study

Masahiro Hashizume; Mitsugu Hachisu; Hideyo Yoshida; Miji Kim; Hun Kyung Kim; Yuichi Amano; Chie Hasegawa; Takao Suzuki; Kazushige Ihara

doi:10.1016/j.pnpbp.2014.08.012

Serum brain-derived neurotrophic factor level in elderly women depression: a community-based study

Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry. 2015 Jan 2:56:109-16. doi: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2014.08.012. Epub 2014 Aug 29.

Authors

Masahiro Hashizume¹, Mitsugu Hachisu², Hideyo Yoshida³, Miji Kim³, Hun Kyung Kim³, Yuichi Amano⁴, Chie Hasegawa⁵, Takao Suzuki⁶, Kazushige Ihara⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Dokkyo Medical University, Japan. Electronic address: 028704hm@med.toho-u.ac.jp.
² Division of Clinical Pharmacy, Department of Pharmacotherapeutics, School of Pharmacy, Showa University, Japan.
³ Research Team for Promoting Independence of the Elderly, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology, Japan.
⁴ (e)Division of Public Health, Department of Social Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Toho University, Japan.
⁵ Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Dokkyo Medical University, Japan.
⁶ National Institute for Longevity Sciences, Japan.

PMID: 25178999
DOI: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2014.08.012

Abstract

Objectives: Serum levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) have been shown to be lower in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) than in healthy persons. Although several studies have examined the associations between serum BDNF levels and broader categories of depression identified by psychiatrists or depressive symptoms measured with depression scales among nonpatient populations, some of these studies did not consider possible confounders and included mostly young or middle-aged subjects and nonrepresentative control subjects, such as volunteers and patients' relatives. Therefore, it remains unclear that whether MDD, broader categories of depression, or depressive symptoms in the elderly are associated with BDNF. The present study examined these associations in a community sample and controlled for confounders.

Methods: The subjects were 538 women aged 78 to 88 years who had participated in a follow-up survey of a cohort and had scored 24 or more on the Mini-Mental State Examination. Two depression scales were administered, and, using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV, psychiatrists identified 53 persons having any mood disorder (AMD) - 8 with MDD and 45 with other types of depression according to the DSM-IV or its research criteria - and 106 healthy controls.

Results: Subjects with MDD had serum BDNF levels lower than did controls but subjects with AMD did not. The severity of depressive symptoms assessed with either of the 2 depression scales was negatively correlated with serum BDNF levels in all subjects and in subjects remaining after persons with MDD or AMD were excluded. These associations were significant after controlling for possible confounders.

Conclusion: We have found an association between MDD and serum BDNF levels in old-old women, as has previously been found in younger patients. Although serum BDNF levels were not found to be associated with the broader category of depression, they were associated with depressive symptoms among subjects without clinical depression.

Keywords: Brain-derived neurotrophic factor; Community; Depression; Female; Old age.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Aging / blood*
Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor / blood*
Depression / blood*
Female
Humans
Longitudinal Studies
Psychiatric Status Rating Scales
Residence Characteristics
Statistics, Nonparametric

Substances

Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor
brain-derived growth factor